Scott Davis
Forum Replies Created
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Do you like those Lite Panels? I’ve seen print media about them, but haven’t actually used any. Seems like a great concept…
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SDI is a digital signal (Serial Digital Interface) that combines audio and video signals along one data stream. HD Analog Component is a splitting of HD RGB signals in the video and does not include any audio information along the data stream.
Both are HD signals; one is analog, the other is digital. Most people use the HDAC for monitoring purposes (provided you have an HD monitor that accepts the RGB inputs), not for transferring data (unless in the case that you have a capture card that has HD analog inputs).
As far as the mixing of the cameras for your program, ask yourself this: Is it worth the time I’m going to have to spend tweaking levels in post (if you are going to post the program) vs. out-of-pocket expenses for the rental of the 3rd 200?
If you’re passing along the costs to the client, I would suggest just renting the camera and getting the peace of mind that you KNOW the cameras will cut together perfectly using the same SD setup card in each of the cameras. You’ll save them that much money in time for the post. If you’re paying for it yourself, it wouldn’t make as much sense, if you already own the 500, to rent another; you’ll just have to “fix it in post”.
Having to “fix it in post” isn’t always the best solution, and it’s what people who have been shooting for aeons HATE to hear. Why not just let ME shoot it RIGHT instead of YOU having to fix it later?!?!? I absolutely hate the phrase “I’ll fix it in post”…
Hope that helps…
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SDI is a digital signal (Serial Digital Interface) that combines audio and video signals along one data stream. HD Analog Component is a splitting of HD RGB signals in the video and does not include any audio information along the data stream.
Both are HD signals; one is analog, the other is digital. Most people use the HDAC for monitoring purposes (provided you have an HD monitor that accepts the RGB inputs), not for transferring data (unless in the case that you have a capture card that has HD analog inputs).
As far as the mixing of the cameras for your program, ask yourself this: Is it worth the time I’m going to have to spend tweaking levels in post (if you are going to post the program) vs. out-of-pocket expenses for the rental of the 3rd 200?
If you’re passing along the costs to the client, I would suggest just renting the camera and getting the peace of mind that you KNOW the cameras will cut together perfectly using the same SD setup card in each of the cameras. You’ll save them that much money in time for the post. If you’re paying for it yourself, it wouldn’t make as much sense, if you already own the 500, to rent another; you’ll just have to “fix it in post”.
Having to “fix it in post” isn’t always the best solution, and it’s what people who have been shooting for aeons HATE to hear. Why not just let ME shoot it RIGHT instead of YOU having to fix it later?!?!? I absolutely hate the phrase “I’ll fix it in post”…
Hope that helps…
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I didn’t say it was a perfect solution, but it is a solution!
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There’s an old phrase… “The lower the budget, the longer the lens.” If you want to decrease your DOF (depth of field), move the camera back further, zoom in, and you will notice that there’s a HUGE lessening in the DOF. Film is supposed to replicate what the eyes see, so don’t zoom in and out in a shot- your eyes can’t zoom, so you should try as little as possible to zoom. When your eyes want to see something closer up, what do you do? You move into it. So much of “film like” has a lot to do with moving the camera within the shot, like that of a steadi-cam or jib, not zooming the lens in and out.
JM2cents… Now if someone could help me get this freaking hard drive to work with my 2000!!!!
Scott
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Thanks for the info. I am still waiting on the hard drives, so I’m trying to answer a question that I may just have to wait on! Patience, Grasshopper…
Thanks!
Scott
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I was in FCP 5.0.4.
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[scott davis] “Go to the newer suite, and I still couldn’t get the footage off the P2 cards into FCP without loading the footage as real-time Firewire load.”
You can do it directly; you have to use the “Import Panasonic P2” command. Attach the camera via firewire and set it up as a 1394 Device in the menus; that way the camera will act as a card reader and will show up on the Mac desktop as an external hard disk. Then just import the files. It’ll take a few of minutes for FCP to unwrap the MXF files and re-wrap them as Quicktime MOV files, but then you’ve got ’em ready to go.
Okay, I tried that, but I got an error that said, “Incomplete or Corrupt File” and the P2 lights on the camera were flashing orange. It simply wouldn’t let me import. Trust me, I tried.
[scott davis] “In the 100, while in preset, you can toggle back and forth between 32K and 56K. Don’t know if I was doing something wrong (very possible, but it happened repeatedly) but I was never able to toggle between the two”
It works exactly like the DVX does in that regard. I don’t know why it didn’t work for you at the time (was the AUTO switch engaged? Or was the SW MODE menu messed up so that preset wasn’t really assigned to PRST?) Don’t know, but rest assured that it works exactly like you’d expect.
I was not in auto-anything. I think auto should not be an option on ANY camera beyond what you’d use at home. Went back in and checked to make sure that SW mode was normal. It was.
[scott davis] “but you can’t take HD footage and dub it straight over to the on-board DV deck.”
Yes you can. You have to have the switch in TAPE mode, and then go into PC/DUB mode. It’ll let you convert any high-def files straight over to the DV tape, even preserving the slow-motion or fast-motion effects of the variable frame rates, and you can select 2:3 or 2:3:3:2 pulldown if converting 24p footage.
Switch was in tape mode. I was in the same playback mode as record mode. It didn’t dub over. I used a workaround and did a component dub on DigiBeta. No big deal.
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Lower wattage Lowell Rifa lights work okay. I have a couple of LC88’s (1k’s), and they put out an acceptable amount and quality of light.
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When you buy a car, you can always cancel the “extended warranty” before the term ends… can you do this with these grey market dealers? Maybe you can ask for the warranty, get the camera, and then cancel it…